Who Are Your Favorite Movie Villains?

Ah, the “movie villain.” Whether it be Darth Vader, Hannibal Lecter or Loki, they’re there for you to love, hate, fear and (in a way) envy – because they usually have a buttload of money!

In no particular order, here’s some of my faves!

Nino Brown (New Jack City)

Based on the HUGE crack cocaine epidemic the US found itself in back in the ’80s and ’90s, New Jack City was a look at how big the crack problem really was in the inner cities – in this case, NYC – ruled over by drug dealing crime lord Nino Brown and his “Cash Money Brothers” a.k.a. “CMB.” Nino has zero issues with killing one of his own to save his own ass and indeed does when he (regretfully) kills his best friend. Boo, this guy.

Stripe (Gremlins)

9 times out of 10, whenever I tell someone my dog’s name (Gizmo), I usually hear the line “Gizmo caca” uttered in Stripe’s voice as a joke. Spawned when water was spilled on Gizmo’s back and transitioned from mogwai to these ugly bastards after they trick the mega-cute Billy Peltzer into feeding them after midnight (which Gizmo refused), Stripe became leader of these uglies and had a mean streak a mile wide that included stringing up Billy’s dog Barney with Christmas tree lights and hanging him on the porch in the middle of the night. While Stripe provided some great laughs and was a scary gremlin, I cheered and covered my eyes as he perished (because it was super gross).

Zod (Superman/Man Of Steel)

Although Michael Shannon gives an AMAZING performance in the otherwise craptastic Man of Steel, it’s the Terence Stamp version of Zod from the Christopher Reeve films that I LOVE dearly. Shannon’s take on Zod was very Magneto-like but his armor made him resemble a bad guy from a Halo/Gears of War hybrid video game; all Stamp had was his amazing black clothes that made him look like he was about to break out in a festive European dance.

The Joker (Batman, Dark Knight)

For me, all three major film versions of The Joker are awesome. You have one that’s complete camp (Romero), one who’s campy and really devious (Nicholson), and one that’s just off the deep end completely (Ledger). I must say: of these three, it’s Nicholson that I still love the most, even over the mesmerizing, Oscar-winning performance from the late Heath Ledger. I love Nicholson because he provided the comedy to the seriously-serious Batman (Michael Keaton); I’d show you my fave scene from the film where Joker meets Vicki Vale in the museum, but thanks to the tight-fisted Prince, all I could find were scenes without the “Partyman” song, and that’d be like serving a s’more without the marshmallow.

Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Smokey and The Bandit)

Thanks to the late, great Jackie Gleason and his portrayal of a sheriff who thinks he’s above the law, I learned a whole new way to swear that would make my dad laugh. With a one-track mind and hilariously fueled rage, he kinda goes off the deep-end when he decides to chase down the guy (Burt Reynolds’ Bandit) whose passenger happens to be the bride (Sally Field) who just left his dimwitted son at the altar. Here he unknowingly has a conversation with the very man he happens to be chasing.

EVERY BOND VILLAIN EVER

When it comes to 007, you really can’t pick just one villain – all of them have buttloads of money and instead of just enjoying it on booze and broads, they opt for world domination, which we all know NEVER goes well for them. But for the purposes of today, I chose Auric Goldfinger from 1964’s Goldfinger. Goldfinger is so obsessed with gold he not only wants to contaminate the world’s biggest gold reserve at Fort Knox, he’s also a big fan of killing/covering women who betray him in gold paint. This film also contains one of the most quotable lines outside of “Bond, James Bond.” AND how can you not choose the man whom Mike Myers brilliantly parodied in Goldmember?! You can’t, that’s how.

Dean Wormer (Animal House)

This guy was a dick, pure and simple. After the Deltas threw a toga party that resulted in his own wife coming home wasted and the Mayor’s under-aged daughter being dropped off in a shopping cart at the Mayor’s home, the “double secret probation” Wormer put them on resulted in the frat being expelled and their names turned into the draft board. All of which resulted in one of the BEST “mess up a parade” revenge sequences ever put to film.

SH-SH-SHAAAAAARK! (Shark Attack 3: Megalodon)

In one of the GREATEST B-movie shark films EVER, you get to see a Megalodon just eat everything (including speedboats and jet skis) as if they were canapes. Did I also mention Torchwood star John Barrowman is in this?! This one minute clip should give you an idea of how awesomely awful the CGI is but let’s be honest, you really shouldn’t be watching this for that – you should watch it because it’s HILARIOUSLY awesome.

And there’s just a small selection of my villainous loves. I’ve PURPOSELY left a bunch off the list because I wanna know YOUR favorite movie villains! Leave them in the comments below!